Electrically-actuated means for operating vacuum-breaker valves



' E LECTRICALLY ACTUATED MEANS FQR OPERATING VACUUM BREAKER VALVES.

APPLICATION FILED APR-14, 1921.

Patented Nov. 14, 1922.

2' S,HEETS.S.HEE I w my, 4 4 7 4. l d A m m l H i vW/l/l/l/WAV/WHW/l/M e W M m. 5 w, w 4 V W. A. HOWLAND.

ELECTRICALLY ACTUATED MEANS FOR OPERATING VACUUM BREAKER VALVES,

APPLICATION FILED APR-14, I92!- 9% 2. 92 11 ,E m T 0n w dz .w m a P Patented Nev. 14, I 192 2. i

mimic a nownenn, or Anni/rs, MASSACHUS E I TS.

ELECTRICALLY-ACTUATED{MEANS non" OPERATING vncunnmannnxnn venvnsf Application filed April V14, 1921. lsenai No. 461,360.

Tool! whom itvnag/ concern:

Be it known that I, W ALDO A. HowLANI), a citizen of the United States, residing at Adams, inthe county of Berlcshireand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrically- Actuated Means for Operating" Vacuum- Breaker Valves, of which the following isa inlet controlling valve.

specification, reference being had to'the aocompanying drawings. I This invention relates generally to means for breaking the vacuum in steam plants, and particularlyto certain improvements in the controller for operating the vacuum valve illustrated in my application for patent filed April 10, 1920, Serial #372,818. In the application above referred to, there is illustrated avacuum valve which'is oper ated by means of a piston, this piston in turn being operated by the inlet of water to the piston chamber, the inlet of water being in turn controlled by a'fioatoperated water The present invention contemplates the provision of means whereby steam or other motive fluid may be admitted to the-piston chamber to causethe lifting of thevacuum valve and the consequent breaking of the vacuum in the exhaust pipe of the enginein stead'of using water for this purpose. i

In the prior application above referred to, the controlling valve as illustrated is Topera-ted bymeans of a float which is shown as disposed Within a float chamber connected tothe condenser of the engine so that when water commences-to T186 1n the condenser the water will also rise in the float chamber, lifting the float and operating the control- 1 ling valve to cause the" breaking of the vacuum. v c

The generalob ect of the present invention is to provide means whereby the controlling valve may 'be actuated by other- My inventionjis illustrated'in the A further object is to provide means'of 1 actuated to causethe destruction of -the 5 5 vacuum even before the machinery is still.

this'icharacter wherein when the controlling valve is shifted through the actuation of the accident engine stop or through'otherelem tr-ically controlled means, the controlling valve will remainin this shifted position to thereby hold the vacuum valve in its open position until the controlling valve is re, leased byhand; 3 a Stillanother object is to provide a mech anism of this'character in which the'o'on-.

[trolling valve is "primarily float operated but in which a'solenoid or magnet is usedto shift it to" a position to cause the opening, of thevacuum valve, and in-this connection mechanism of a-very simple and yet effective character mounted upon the float cham ber itself -which shall be very powerful,

operativelyengage the controlling valveto 0 v to provide an improved electro-magnetic 1 which shall, be 'relatively compact, and in which the-magnetic mechanism will be fully protected so that only a minimum of care is necessary, a furtherobject'being to (pros, vide a mechanism of this characterwherein no springs are used andwhich, therefore, is'not' liable to get out of -orden'which is instantaneous in its action, and which may be readily connected-up with the accident stopor like mechanism. i

Other objects will appear of the 'following'description;

in the course I p accom-' panymg draw1ngs, where1n i Figure l'is "an elevation of a vacuum valve controlling ";'II1GQl12LI11Sn1 constructed 1n accordance with my invention and applied to 1 a condenser A FigureQ i chamber, thecontrolling-valve, the vacuumv valveandthe motortherefor, the exhaust pipe being shown in section;

s a side elevation of, the float Figure 3 is-a vertlcal'sectional view ofthe float chamber. the controllingvalve andthe ,electr'o-magnetic means for actuating the controlling valve;

Figure 41s a'top plan view of the struc'tion illustrated in Figure 3;.

Figure 5 is .a fragmentary vertical sec tional view of the controlling valve showing the. controlling valve raised to 'permitth passag t seem the motors cone Figure 6 is elevation partly in section of the motor and the vacuum valve and its seat;

Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Figure 3;

Figure 8 is a top planview of the head 31;

Figure 9 is an elevation thereof;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper end of the magnetically actuating means for o )erating the valve, showing the position 01 said magnetically operated means when the magnet is energized, the valve lifted and the locking pin dropped.

Referring to these drawii-igs, it will be seen that l have illustrated in general the mechanism which is fully described and illustrated in my prior application for patent above referred to, this mechanism including a cylinder lO having heads 11 and 12 at its opposite ends, the head 12 being provided with an opening in its center which is connected with a condenser of an engine, as by means oi a pipe The head 11 al o is connected with the upper portion of the condenser above the water line thereof by the pipe The head 11 is also provided with a central aperture for the passage of a float rod.

Disposed within the cylinder 10 is a Heat 15' which is preferably an open bottom, metal float, though it may be of" any suitable material. Attached to this float and extending upward therefrom is a stem 16.

This stem extends up through the aperture in the center of the head 11.

Mounted upon suitable supports, as for instance the supporting bolts or posts 17, is a controlling valve casing 18. This valve body is hollow to form a longitudinally extending chamber, and connected to the upper end of this chamber is asteam pipe 19 which is connected to source of steam orto a. source of any other fluidpressure. Disposed within the chamber but spaced a distance from the upper end thereof is a bushing 20 which rests upon a shoulder 21 and is formed to providea valve seat for a spherical valve 22. form and this central opening of the bushing is, of course, smaller than the spherical valve 22 so thatwhen this valve 22 is lowered it rests upon. the upper edge of the bushing and closes passage therethrough. Disposed in the lower end of the chamber is a bushing 23 resting upon a shoulder 21 i and below this bushing there is formed the exhaust chamber 25. Between the bushings 20 and there is provided a chamber 26, his chamber communicating by a pipe 26 with the motor which controls the vacui-im valve, as will be laterstate'd.

Extending through the lower end of the casing 18 is a stem 27 which is-longitudinally shiitable throughthe valve casing.

This bushing 20 is annular in,

This stem from its upper end downward a predetermined distance is hollow or tubular, as at 28, and the stemis formed at the lower end of this tubular portion with an exhaust port or ports 29. When this stem is lowered, these exhaust ports discharge into the exhaust chamber 25, from which an exhaust pipe 30 leads, but when the stem is raised the exhaust port or ports '29 are carried up and closed by the sleeve 23 (see Figure When the stem is raised so that the exhaust port is closed by the sleeve 23, the up per end of the stem engages the valve 22 and lifts it from its seat. It will be seen that the upper end of the stem has an exterior diameter smaller than the interior diameter of the b-ushing'20 so that when the stem is lowered and the valve 22 is on the seat, steam returningthrough the pipe 27 can pass into the chamber 26, then upward around the stem into the space immediately beneath the valve 22, then downward through the tubular stem and out through the exhaust ports 29 into the exhaust chamber 25, and so out through the exhaust pipe 30. The stem 27 at its lower end carries ahead 31, this head being split and held clamped upon the stem the character fully illustrated in my prior application for patent. This motor as now illustrated comprises a cylinder 33 wherein is disposed a piston 34c. The pipe 26 opens through the bottom of this cylinder 25. The

upper end of the stem 84: carries upon it adep'ending yoke 35 which extends below the cylinder 25 and is pivotally connected, as at 36, to a vacuum valve 37 resting upon a seat 38. Cylinder supports 39 extend upward from this seat 38. Obviously when steam or other motive fluid entersthrough the pipe 26 into the lower end of the cylinder, the piston 34% will rise, raising the valve 37 from its seat. The valve will remain raised so long as the steam or other motive fluid fills the space below the piston, but when the controlling valve has been shifted so as to prevent the inlet of steam to the cylinder 33 and permit the outlet of steam therefrom, the piston 34 will descend by gravity and this will lower the vacuum valve 37 onto its seat. A spring 410 may be disposed within the head of the cylinder 33 to bear against the piston and cause its return. l do not wish to be limited to this, however. A plurality of ports 41 are provided in the upper end of the cylinder to permit the discharge of any water which may have leaked past the piston. I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction of the vacuum valve and its motor illustrated, as these de-' tails form no part of my present invention.

It will be obvious now from what has gone before that when the water inthe condenser A. rises above a certain amount, due

to there being more intense vacuum in the cylinder thanat the condenser, which conditron may be caused by the stoppage of the air'pump or the stoppage of the circulating pump before the engine has stopped or be;

cause the engine has no free exhaust to, the air, then as soon as the rising water seals the inlet pipe 13 leading'to the chamber 10, the vacuumexisting higher up in the condenser at once begins'to assist in'causing the water to enter the chamber 10 below the float or piston 17 and will assist in the quick movement of the motor valve stem 1.6. Thus, for instance, if water begins to rise above its normal heightv in the condenser or in the exhaust pipe to the feed water heater and thus is liable to be drawn intothe cylinders of the engine and it is. therefore, necessary to break the vacuum in the exhaust pipe,

then this water enters the chamber 10 and if the water therein rises from 111- to 2",for instance, the float 15 rlses and stem 16 engaging the head 33 causes the upward m'ovement of the stem 27 and pushes the spherical.

valve 22 from its seat on bushing 20. This permits steam from the pipe 19 to pass down ward around the spherical valve and around the upper end of the stem 27 and into the chamber 26 and thence'by pipe 26 to the cylinder 33, causing the upward movement of the piston 34, which causes the lifting of the vacuum breaking valve 37, and this valve 37 remains raised until the level 01 the water in the receptacle to which the chamber 10 is connected lowers or returns to its normal. level. This return of the water causes the downward movement of the stem 16 and this permits the stem 27 to lower, which in turn permits the valve 22 to lower onto the seat 20, thus cutting off the supply ot steam. The" downward movement of thctubularste'm 37 opens the exhaust port or ports 29, where- 'upon the steam contained within the cylinder 4 using different length thimbles 42 slipped over the rod 16 in the process of assembling these thimbles resting loosely'upon the upper head of the float 15 and limiting the upward movement of the float. V 7

So far I have described a construction which is similar to the construction illustrated and described in my prior application above referred to and which is practically end of the core 48. I I

loosely surrounds the head 47 ,which is identical with the construction illustrated in an application forpatent filed by me on the 14th day ing for thestem 16, and disposed within this of;April, '1921, Serial #461359. As before stated, the main object of'the s depression and extending through the under.

face of the head 16" is a brass bushing 44 "through which the rod 16 slides. Loosely sur rounding therod 16 is avbrass, tubular sleeve designated 45, and mountedupon the lower end of this tubular member is an annular armature of soft steel or like metal, designated 46, which is formed to fit loosely over the bushing 44 and to slide up and. down with the sleeve 45. This sleeve 45' atflit's upper end carries a head 47 which is made of suitable composition and which extends above the sleeve 45 and'loosely' surrounds the stem 16. The upper edge face of this head bears against the under face of the head 31 on the lower end of the stem 27 The upper face oi? the armature'46- is conoidal in form and loosely surrounding the sleeve 45 and the head 47 is the annular core 48 of a solenoid or magnet which ,coacts with the armature 46 r i Surrounding this core 48 is a, coil 49 formed of thoroughly taped and shellackefd copper wire. In actual practice #18 gauge copper wire is used and about 480" of this copper wire is used for the coil.) This coil is contained. within a casing 50 which constitutes a loose shell protecting the coil;

The core 48extends above the upper end of this shell] The housingshell 50'is provided with a cap or top 51 "which'extends inward A from theupper end of the shell andthen upward, as at 52, and surroundsthe upper This core in] turn carried upon the upper endof the sleeve 48, plurality of set screws 53-e xtend through the upwardly extending portion 51 and engage the upper. end of the core 48 so as to hold the core'in place and under the screws54 may be used to engage the set screws tohold'themfirmly and preventchance of detachment.

The head 47 ad'acent its lower end is formed withan annular channel 55 and a locking'pin 56 is loosely mounted in and extends diagonally downward through the wall 52" and the upper end o'fthe coreand 80 well or depression 43 concentric tothe' openbears against the outer surfaceot the head 4-7. l Vhen the head l7 rises under the magnetic action, this pin will drop into the annular recess 55 (see igure 10) and having dropped into this recess acts as a lock preventing the downward movement of the head 47, the sleeve 45, and the armature as. The ends of the magnet coil are carried out through the wall of the shell 50 and carried to binding screws 57 mounted upon the head. 11 and insulated therefrom. From these binding screws conductors lead to a push button and to a source of energy so that when the push. button is closed, the magnetwill be energized, drawing upward on the sleeve and causing the operation of the valve in the manner heretofore stated.

The push button is illustrated as typify ing any means whereby the circuit can be closed through the magnet either automatically upon thehappening offla predeter mined event or by hand. Thus this push button may form part of an engine accident stop designed to be used when there is an accident of any kind and it is desired to stop the engine. ll do not wish to be limited to the particular means employed. for closing the circuit through the magnet or solenoid, as any suitable means be used for this purpose. Preferably the core 48 of the solenoid is formed of brass, and the outer shell 50 of wrought iron. lit will be obvious that when an electric current of suflicient voltage passes through. the coil, the lower pole or armature 46 will be raised up into contact with the upper or lined pole formed by the lower end of the core and in so doing the striker head carried by the sleeve 45 Wlll come in contact with the head 31 of the steam valve rod and there by raise the steam. valve to a. proper position to actuate the piston of the motor and raise the vacuum valve .to destroy the vacuum. I

In the operation of this device, an observer touches the electric push button in some part of the mill or otherplace where the mechanism is located, and iii this push button is connected to the accident engine stop steam will be immediately shut olf from the engine and atthe same instant of time the solenoid will be energized. to open .the steam valve, before described, to thereby destroy the vacuum even-before the machinery is still. lVhen the striker head 47 has reached a certain height, the locking pin will drop by gravity into the recess 55 and the steam valve will be held open until an attendant withdraws the locking pin, thus allowing the movable pole to return to its original position. It is to be noted, of course, that the solenoid or magnetic means for operating thesteam valve is entirely distinct from, though itecoacts with, the float operated means for operating the the stem 27 and the lifting of the valve 22 from its seat.

.t will be seen that in this construction no steam or water packing; is used,'that all the movements are vertical, that the mechanism is extremely compact, that it has abundant power for the purpose described, and that the parts do not require frequent adustment or repair. Further, it will be seen that I have provided an automatic lock to hold the vacuum brolren during fall the time that the circuit is closed through the accident engine stop and that the action is instantaneous upon the closing of this circuit. it is also to be noted that by using the ball valve 22, I provide means whereby the valve may be free to rotate and seat at any point to which it may be retated. By providing a plurality of exhaust ports extending radially from the tubuportion of the stem 27 and discharging these exhaust ports into an annular relatively large exhaust chamber -25, I permit the rotation of the stem 27 within the valve casino; 18 and prevent any chance of the stem at any time getting into such position that the exhaust port cannot be closed or opened.

l Vhile l have illustrated. a construction which has in actual. practice been found thoroughly elifective, yet it is obvious that many changes might be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from. the spirit of the invention.

One advantage otthis electrical magnetically operated means for opening; the vacuum breaker valve is that it causes the stoppage of the en ine much morequickly than would be the case where only the ordinary accident engine stop is used, and as a matter of fact insurance companies today re quire that there shall be an electric trip for the vacuum alve connected in line with the accident engine stop. My construction provides practically a single means-whereby the vacuum valve be raised and the vacuum broken when the water rises in the condenser, as before explained, and means whereby the vacuum valve may be raised and the vacuum broken whenever the accident en e ine stop is actuated, thus doing away with the use of two separate and inde pendent devices and providing what is practically single device for opening the vacuum. valve under certain circumstances.

I claim 1. The combination with a vacuum brea ing valve, of float controlled meansfor shifting the valve from its seat, and electromagnetically controlled means for shifting the valve from its seat, the two means operating independently of each other.

2.. The combination with a vacuum valve, of means for shifting said valve comprising a cylinder, a piston therein operatively connected to the valve, a float controlled valve in one position admitting motive fluid. beneath the piston and in another position cutting off the flow of motive fluid to the space beneath the piston and permitting the discharge of motive fluid from said space, and electro-magnetic means for shifting said controlling valve to a position to admit motive fluid beneath the piston and including means for closing a circuit through the electro-magnetic means.

3. The combination with a controlling valve having a longitudinally shiftable valve stem, of an armature, a stem connected thereto and disposed in alignment with but normally spaced from the valve stem and adapted to contact therewith when the armature is shifted, and an electromagnet connected in an interrupted circuit with a source of energy, the electro-mag net coacting with the armature. I

4. The combination with a valve having a valve stem, of a float having a stem adapted to engage with the valve stem to cause the shifting of the valve stem into one position when the-float is raised, electromagnetic means for shifting said valve stem including a sleeve loosely surrounding the float stem, said sleeve when raised engaging the valve stem, an armature connected to the sleeve, and an electro-magnet adapted to be connected with a source of energy and when energized attracting the armature and causing the shifting of the sleeve and the actuating of the valve.

5. The combination with a controlling valve having a stem, the lower end of the stem being provided with a head, of a float, a stem adapted when the float rises to engage said head to shift the valve stem, a

sleeve loosely surrounding the float stem and independently. shiftable with relation thereto and adapted when raised to engage said head to raise the valve stem, an armature carried by said sleeve, and an. electromagnet surrounding the sleeve and coacting with the armature, said magnet when energized attracting the armature and causing the sleeve to strike the valve stem to thereby shift the valve.

having a float therein and a controlling valve mounted above the float chamber an 6. The combination with a float chamber.

including a longitudinally shiftable valve stem and having a head at its lower end, of a stem mounted upon the float extending upward in alignment with the valve stem but out of contact therewith and adapted.

when the float rises to strike the head of the valvestem and shift the valve, a

sleeve surrounding the floatstem and having a head at its upper end adapted when the sleeve is lifted to strike the head on the lower end of the valve Shell! to lift it. an armature attached tothe lower end of the sleeve, and an electro-magnet surround.-

ing the sleeve and adapted when energized to attract the armature to thereby lift it;

7. The combination with ,a vacuum breaking valve, of fluid actuated means for causing the lifting of the valve, electrically actuated means for'lifting the valve independently of the fluid actuated means,and means for locking the valve in its raised position, said means loeing manually releasable from its lockingposition.

8. The combination with avacuum valve,

of fluid actuated means for raising the vacuum valve from its seatand lncluding'a controlling valve, float operated means for shifting the controlling valve to cause the lifting of the vacuum valve, electrically operated means for shifting the controlling valve to thereby cause the lifting of.

WALDO A. HowLAND.

my] I 

